The quest for a guru ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche

The quest for a guru ~ Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche was last modified: January 22nd, 2017 by dorjeduck

Before embarking on your search for a guru, your intentions should be clear. As with everything, motivation is of utmost importance. Why would you even want to have a guru?

At the very least, the quest for a guru should be fueled by a revulsion of worldly life. If not revulsion, then at least some understanding that success in worldly endeavors is not the ultimate answer. A step up from that motivation is genuine confidence in and attraction to the spiritual life and a desire to understand the truth. And even better is an attitude of a warrior wishing to understand the truth not only for himself but for the sake of all sentient beings.

For such a grandiose journey, you want to have a guide, a coach, someone who will show you how. Someone who will give you the support, who will correct you, who will pull the rug out from under your feet, and who will not let you go astray. That is the ideal motivation, which will immediately give you a good sense of what type of guru you should be looking for.